Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Tombstone Tuesday: A different sort of tombstone

When I set off several years ago to find the grave of distant cousin James Luther Slayden at the Mission Park South Cemetery, the style of his stone was surprising to say the least. The small boulder on the right is the gravestone of his wife, Ellen Maury Slayden.

Ellen Maury Slayden is credited with conceiving in 1891 the idea for the Battle of Flowers Parade held yearly in San Antonio in memory of the fallen heroes at the Alamo and to commemorate the victory at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, where Texas had gained its independence from Mexico. She was famous in her own right and the dairies she kept while in Washington were published in 1962 under the title Washington Wife.